From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 22:54:57 -0500 Subject: A Night on the Town at the Taxpayers Expense by Mary S. Source: direct Reply To: danascully37@hotmail.com Title: A night on the Town at the taxpayer's expense. Author: Mary S. Rating: PG Classification: MS friendship, slight UST. Disclaimer: the X-files and everything about them belong to Chris Carter, not me. Spoilers: Hollywood A.D., En Ami, Fire Summary: A simple story about Mulder and Scully enjoying each other's company. They walked off the movie set hand in hand, still chuckling over being "in love" with A.P. Skinner. What a joke that movie had been, Mulder thought to himself. "That Federman is a twisted guy," he said aloud. Scully snorted. "That's an understatement, Mulder. And I think Shandling and Tea Leoni weren't the only ones with a crush on you." Mulder winced as he remembered Federman kissing him on the cheek when they arrived at the movie set sixteen months before. "What can I say, Scully. I'm irresistable." He winked at her. "What do you say we grab some dinner at the taxpayers' expense, huh?" "Lead the way, partner" was her answer. The restaurant they went to was very elegant. Mulder guided Scully through the door, his hand in his usual spot at the small of her back. The maitre'd showed them to a table off in the corner. "I feel like I'm going to the prom," Scully remarked as Mulder slid her chair out for her. "Yeah, it's a far cry from our usual takeout." Mulder said. "And I haven't been this dressed up in I don't know how long. Not since that time when I was in Boston and that dude set the hotel on fire." Scully smirked at him. "That wouldn't be the same time when you were rekindling a flame of your own, now would it?" He looked at her sheepishly. "I was much younger then, Scully. Besides, I caught her with the guy who she was protecting. Anyway," he said, changing the subject, " when was the last time you had occasion to put on the ritz? And why wasn't it with me?" he asked suggestively. She ignored his leer and said, "I can't remember." Which is a lie, she thought. But she wasn't ready to tell him that it had been with his favorite guy, C.G.B. Spender. Now it was her turn to change the subject. "So what do you want to eat?" she asked him. Dinner was fabulous. Scully sure could eat, Mulder noticed, as the waiter took away her plate with the stripped carcass of a cornish game hen on it. Of course, there was only a small piece of fat leftover from his prime rib left on his own plate. He had the sudden urge to pat his stomach. Instead he asked her, "So, what next?" Scully smiled at him and said, "Let's dance, Mulder." He looked at her oddly, but she only grinned and stood up. "You're just full of surprises tonight." He told her. "Still gotta keep you guessing, right?" He laughed and took her hand as he led her to the dance floor. The band was playing "Isn't it Romantic" and Scully hummed along as they danced. Mulder closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feel of her in his arms; no incipient doom this time, no pain, just the two of them having a night out on the town. The song ended and another one started. This was a little livelier and at the end he twirled her around and brought her back into a dip. "Mulder!" she exclaimed, and he grinned devilishly at her. "Bet you didn't think I could do that," he said to her. "Or this" he continued as the first bars of a tango were played. Scully was speechless as Mulder led her around the floor, tangoing this way and that. What else would she discover about him as the years went by, she wondered. After the song ended he led her back to the table. After they sat back down, he explained. "My mother made me take ballroom dancing when I was sixteen. She said it was a good way to romance a girl. I think she just wanted someone to practice with. She was a wonderful dancer." He smiled a bit sadly. "But she was right. Look how it surprised you to know that I was the reincarnation of Fred Astaire." "I wouldn't go that far," Scully told him. "But I can see I'm not the only one full of surprises tonight. What's next on the agenda, Agent Mulder?" She was happy to see that the previous melancholy had vanished from his eyes. "Care to take a walk, Agent Scully?" The night air was cool as they strolled along arm in arm. It was nice, Scully thought, to just enjoy the moment, with nothing pressing to get back to. Of course, tomorrow they had to catch a flight back to D.C., but she had learned recently to just savor the moment while it lasted. They talked about nothing of significance as they walked along. No shop talk, just little things. The weirdness of the movie, the excellent dinner, the lingering shock of Skinner actually giving them a bureau card for the evening. It was as if a spell had come over them, and neither one wanted to break it. Even in the car on the way to the hotel, a peacefulness enveloped them. It stayed with them as Mulder walked Scully to her room. "Goodnight, Mulder. I had a good time." She gazed up at him and smiled. He smiled back and took her hand. "Me too, Scully." And he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. When she turned to her door, he added, "You know Scully, we ate, we drank, and we danced. If we were zombies, there'd still be one thing left for us to do." The playful leer was back. Scully smiled as she remembered the telephone conversation they had had during their other trip to Hollywood. "That's your theory Mulder. Anyway, I have a headache." And she smirked. He grinned and walked off towards his own room and she called after him, "Hey Mulder." "Yeah?" "Skinner wasn't the only one taking a bubble bath that night on the phone. Sweet dreams." And she slid into her room, leaving him that mental picture for the evening. Finis. Author's note: this was just a little fluffy feel good thing I whipped up for your enjoyment. Feed back is also a feel good thing, so send it to danascully37@hotmail.com.